Lu Hong stood in place, his soul not quite willing to follow his body, for a long while.

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts: “Elder Brother!”

Lu Hong came back to himself and called out with a smile: “Second Brother.”

The young man before him was about eleven or twelve years old, fair-skinned and fine-featured. This was Lu Qian, the second young master of the Lu family’s main branch.

Lu Qian had been born at under eight months; he had been sickly and frail since birth. Who knew how many costly tonics and medicinal brews he had consumed before managing to grow to adulthood. His constitution was far weaker than other boys his age, and he was not tall — his head barely reaching Lu Hong’s chest.

Lu Hong’s relationship with his stepmother Lady Ling was distant and cool, but he was deeply affectionate toward this younger brother. The bond between them was quite close.

“You disappeared right after lunch.” Lu Qian complained with a touch of grievance: “You had me searching all over for you. How did you end up standing here in a daze all by yourself?”

Lu Hong instinctively did not want to mention the chance encounter with Ling Jingshu, and deflected carelessly: “Peony season isn’t until the fourth month, but the Ling family’s garden has grown a multicolored peony that bloomed in the third month. I had nothing to do on my own, so I came to have a look.”

Fearing Lu Qian would press further, he quickly pointed to the peony in full bloom not far away: “Look there — that’s the Luoyang Brocade. A single plant bearing flowers of two different colors, with the foliage on each side completely different as well!”

Lu Qian followed Lu Hong’s gaze.

Magnificent blooms nestled amid lush green foliage, vivid and breathtaking in their beauty.

“It truly is beautiful.” Lu Qian exclaimed in admiring surprise: “Maternal Grandmother mentioned that it was Cousin-Sister Shu who cultivated this. Cousin-Sister Shu must be extraordinarily gifted and skilled — it’s a pity she’s been ill all this time and I still haven’t met her…”

“Cousin-Sister Shu just left a short while ago!”

The words slipped out of Lu Hong before he could stop them.

A flash of keen, eager light passed swiftly through Lu Qian’s eyes, and his voice carried a faint, odd tremor: “Elder Brother, you’ve already seen Cousin-Sister Shu?”

Lu Hong did not notice anything unusual in Lu Qian’s response. He nodded: “Yes, I saw her. I’d come to the peony garden, and she happened to be here as well.”

The stunning impression of that first sight was deeply branded on his heart. He would likely never forget it for as long as he lived.

A pity that, for reasons unknown, Ling Jingshu’s first impression of him did not seem particularly favorable… to put it kindly. To put it honestly — it was very unfavorable indeed.

There must have been some misunderstanding he was unaware of. The next time he saw Cousin-Sister Shu, he should ask her about it and clear things up.

Lu Hong’s thoughts wandered off; after a moment he came back to himself.

Just in time to meet Lu Qian’s probing gaze: “Elder Brother, what were you thinking about? Were you thinking about Cousin-Sister Shu?”

Lu Hong felt a twinge of guilty conscience and coughed. “No such thing — don’t talk nonsense.”

Lu Qian blinked, then suddenly grinned: “Elder Brother, is Cousin-Sister Shu very beautiful? Is she gentle in temperament?”

Lu Hong suppressed the ripple in his heart and nodded. “She is — truly very beautiful.” Incomparably so. But gentle in temperament? That was hardly accurate. Her gaze was so cold it could freeze a person solid.

Lu Qian pressed further: “What did you say to her just now?”

Lu Hong was about to answer when something struck him as off, and he laughed despite himself: “Why are you asking all these questions? We met for the first time, and we barely exchanged more than a few words — just our names and the proper greetings.”

The part about being definitively rebuffed after his attempt at friendly overture was naturally glossed over.

Lu Qian’s smile was a shade unnatural. “Nothing — I was just asking idly.” He quickly changed the subject: “The rest period is almost over, we should head to the Ling family school now. We don’t want to be late.”

Lu Hong agreed with a laugh. Just before turning to go, he cast an instinctive look back at the Luoyang Brocade in full bloom.

Lu Qian took in every nuance of Lu Hong’s subtle gesture, and a flicker of something shadowed his eyes — a gloom inconsistent with his age.

Bai Yu had been holding back all the way back. Once they reached Qiushui Pavilion, she could no longer stop herself from cautiously asking: “The cousin-master from the Lu family is very handsome, and he seemed to know his manners well — he had done nothing discourteous. Why did Young Miss leave him in such an embarrassing predicament?”

Young Miss was gentle and kind-hearted in ordinary circumstances, rarely even stern with the servants. Yet today, with a cousin-master she had just met, she had been exceptionally cold and unreasonable — it was truly puzzling.

Ling Jingshu had just come face to face with both Lady Ling and Lu Hong in succession; her heart was churning with turbulent emotions, far from as calm as her outward appearance suggested. Her patience worn thin, she replied: “There’s no ‘why.’ I simply don’t like the look of him. Does disliking someone require a reason?”

Bai Yu: “…”

Ling Jingshu, having cut off Bai Yu with that retort, inwardly felt a pang of remorse and self-reproach. Bai Yu had asked out of genuine concern — how could she take out her frustrations on her?

“Bai Yu, I’m sorry.” Ling Jingshu’s tone softened, and an apologetic expression came over her face. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I simply dislike people from the Lu family — I find them repellent from the bottom of my heart, and I want nothing to do with them.”

Bai Yu felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

In these times, servants held a lowly position. Masters who were in a foul temper and lashed out or beat those beneath them were common enough. A master who apologized to her maidservant was something unheard of. Young Miss was far too kind and generous toward her!

“If Young Miss dislikes the young master of the Lu family, there’s no need to pay him any attention in the future.”

Bai Yu quickly shifted her thinking and began coming up with strategies for Ling Jingshu: “Our aunt has returned home this time and will surely stay for a while. As long as the Lu family’s young master is a guest in the Ling residence, occasions to meet him will be unavoidable. Young Miss would do well to spend more time with Eighth Young Miss — if the young master approaches to speak with us, Eighth Young Miss will certainly intercept him.”

That was actually a good idea.

Ling Jingshu smiled and nodded in agreement.

Bai Yu, pleased to have her suggestion accepted, continued cheerfully: “And if the young master of the Lu family comes to Qiushui Pavilion, Young Miss can simply pretend to be ill and refuse to see him.”

Ling Jingshu murmured her assent aloud, but inwardly was not persuaded.

Bai Yu was saying this because she did not truly understand Lu Hong’s character.

Once he had made up his mind to get close to someone and win their favor, he had a limitless repertoire of methods. Simply hiding from him would never be a real solution. But she was already cold as iron within — she would not waver. So there was nothing truly to worry about.

The following morning.

They had just arrived at the entrance of Yonghe Hall when they came face to face with the brothers Lu Hong and Lu Qian.

“Cousin-Sister Shu,” Lu Hong’s eyes flashed with delight. “Second Brother and I came to pay our respects to our maternal grandmother — what a coincidence to meet you here.”

Today Lu Hong wore a pale blue scholar’s robe, his hair gathered up with a matching blue cloth band. Compared to the day before, the opulence of a young nobleman had given way to a quality of bookish, refined elegance. The extraordinarily handsome face wore a perfectly calibrated smile, and a pair of dark, gleaming eyes gazed at her with soft warmth.

What young girl in the throes of first longing could resist such a graceful and beautiful young man?

A fine “coincidence” indeed!

It was obvious he had been waiting in the vicinity all along — quietly having servants keep watch on her movements — and had engineered this carefully staged “unexpected meeting.”

Ling Jingshu gave the faintest twitch of her lips, her eyes utterly indifferent, and called out a cool greeting: “Cousin-Brother Lu.”

Lu Hong had gone to such elaborate lengths to arrange this “chance encounter” and was not about to retreat at such a small setback. He smiled and said: “There’s no need for Cousin-Sister Shu to be so formal with me. I’m two years older than you — just call me Hong Cousin-Brother.”

Ling Jingshu’s expression remained placid: “I need to go inside to pay my respects to my grandmother first. If Cousin-Brother Lu isn’t in a hurry to go in, please make way — you’re blocking my path.”

Lu Hong: “…”

Bai Yu looked on at the cousin-master’s face cycling rapidly through various shades of red and white, and felt an inexplicable flicker of pity stir in her heart.

How strange — Young Miss, ordinarily so gentle and kind, seemed to harbor an especially strong and unreasonable aversion to this cousin-master, not even willing to offer a polite and perfunctory pretense of civility. It was coldness upon coldness, not a word of warmth, as though she were just one step away from saying directly, “I despise you — get out of my way.”

Lu Qian stood to one side, having not said a word, his gaze fixed intently on Ling Jingshu’s cold, lovely face. The shock in his heart was known to no one.

That gaze was almost tangible in its weight — difficult to ignore. Swiftly it stirred up certain long-buried, unpleasant memories.

Something quietly shifted in Ling Jingshu’s heart. She looked toward Lu Qian.

“Cousin-Sister Shu,” Lu Qian recovered almost instantly, smiling as he clasped his hands together in a bow: “I am Lu Qian. Cousin-Sister Shu may call me ‘Cousin-Brother Qian’ or simply ‘A’Qian.'”

The slender, slightly slight young man was not tall — he was perhaps even a fraction shorter than she was. His fair face wore a pleasant smile; his fine, clear features bore a strong resemblance to Lady Ling.

Ling Jingshu’s brow barely perceptibly contracted, then smoothed out again. She returned the greeting with a bow: “So this is Cousin-Brother Qian.”

Her manner was not warm, but compared to the coldness she had directed at Lu Hong, it was at least an improvement.

Lu Qian said, grinning: “Since we’ve all arrived together, let’s go into Yonghe Hall to pay our respects to Maternal Grandmother together — the more the merrier. Cousin-Sister Shu, please, after you.”

As he said it, he stepped aside, presenting a thoroughly well-mannered and courteous appearance.

Yet Lu Qian was still so young and fresh-faced, and attempting such grown-up gestures made him look rather endearingly absurd, playing at being an adult.

Ling Jingshu wanted to decline but found no grounds to do so, and simply agreed with an even composure, stepping forward first to lead the way.

A flash of delight passed through Lu Qian’s eyes; he turned to invite his brother along with a smile: “Elder Brother, let’s go in.”

Lu Hong, his warm enthusiasm having met with a wall and been thoroughly frozen from the inside out, already feeling he had lost considerable face before Lu Qian, had not yet recovered his equilibrium. He nodded absently, his heart more disheartened than words could say.